The world responded to corruption like never before in 2011 as regimes throughout the Mid-East fell and citizens demanded greater rights.

But the response did little to change the number of corrupt countries occupying the map.

This year's gold-standard of corruption studies, the Corrupt Perceptions Index, has been released and it pegs corruption in the countries of the world on a scale of 1 to 10 — from most corrupt — to the least.

The following slides show the 10 most corrupt countries and what allows them the dark distinction.